Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 192 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after buying an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,031,000 after buying an additional 968,723 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $799,599,000 after buying an additional 842,458 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $101,348,000 after buying an additional 739,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,952,000 after buying an additional 715,069 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $98.26. 2,488,660 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,968,449. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $75.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.